As far back as antiquity Corfiots gained a reputation in the area of the arts and education. Notable among them were Timotheos, or Timoxenos, Apollodoros, the poet Filiskos, and the Roman writer Drakon. During the Byzantine era, Corfu's cultural and artistic production had nothing much to offer. However, during the Venetian domination, there was significant growth due to the influence of the West and the local tradition. In 1656, the Academia of dei Assicurati was founded. Cultural development ended during the Turkish raids. In 1732, however, a new educational institution, the Academy of the Wanderers was founded. It was the time of the great scholars Nikiforos Theotokis and Evgenios Voulgaris. In 1797, after the arrival of the French under Napoleon, a printing house was founded and newspapers and magazines in Greek and French appeared. The Ionian School, in which the most literate people of the time taught, was founded in 1808. After a period of decline, it was founded again in 1824 by the philhellene Frederic Guilford, and it contributed to the establishment of the Greek language. Many great intellectuals passed through and stayed in Corfu. Among them were Iakovos Polylas, Andreas Kalvos, Gerasimos Markoras, Constantinos Theotokis, Lorentzos Mavilis, and Dionysios Solomos, our national poet. All of those people fought for the establishment of the Greek language.

Music also flourished in Corfu in the 18th and 19th centuries. The first representatives of Corfian musical production appeared at the first melodramas held by Italian and local groups during the Venetian domination. The Philharmonic Society was founded in 1840. Nikolaos Mantzaros taught there. This great musician set to music Dionysios Solomos's "Hymn to Liberty" which became the Greek national anthem in 1864. It was the year when the Ionians were united with the rest of Greece. In 1890 "Mantzaros Filarmoniki" was founded. Corfiots still love music and Corfu bears great musical talents to this day.

Corfu enjoyed a significant growth in the area of painting. This is due mainly to the Cretan hagiographers who came to the island after Crete's fall to the Turks in 1669. They occupied themselves with the adornment of the island, thanks to the liberties they were granted by the Venetians. The Byzantine aesthetics mingle with the western patterns of the Italian painters of the 16th, 17th, and 18th century. Important artists of this style were Michail Damaskinos, Panagiotis Doxaras, Theodoros Poulakis, and the Tzanne brothers. The sculptor Pavlos Prosalendis founded the first School of Fine Arts. In 1808 it became a part of the Ionian School and was under Prosalendis's direction again in 1815. Since then, great artists taught there and many students gained fame as painters.

The people of Corfu, although influenced by the West and the island's rapid touristic development, preserve many of the island's traditions, especially those regarding religion. On Good Saturday, at noon, the local women welcome the "First Resurrection", as they add to the sound of the bells by throwing clay pots. At night, after going to church, the locals gather in Spianada square and celebrate by eating "magiritsa" (the locals call it "tsilikourda") and drinking large quantities of wine. For the feast of Agioi Theodoroi, the locals create a doll Agia Theodora, bearing a watermelon on her head. After the feast, the watermelon is offered to the people. On New Years, the people of Corfu offer twigs of basil to foreigners, wishing them a happy new year. There are a lot of customs and legends regarding St Spiridon the patron saint of Corfu. Ever since the Venetian Rule, the people take his corpse to litanies, every single one of them representing a different miracle of the Saint's, in order to save the island from destruction. The oldest is the litany of Good Saturday dedicated to the rescue of the locals from a famine in 1533. The litany of the first Sunday of November and Palm Sunday reminded Corfiots of the rescue of the locals from the plagues in 1673 and 1629, while the litany of August 11th is dedicated to the defeat of the Turks, in 1716.

The people of Corfu adore dancing and music. The local dances are cheerful, with small jumps and intense rhythm resulting from the influence of the West and the mainland. The most popular dances today are "Tsakonikos" and "Kalamatianos" variations of the authentic Peloponnesian dances, "Agios Georgios" and "Gastouriotikos". Most of the dances are danced in pairs with the accompaniment of a violin, a guitar and an acordeon. The first samples of local music were heard the first dramatic performances by Italian and the local theatrical companies, during the Venetian Rule. Corfiot's favourite music is "Kandathes" which, with the accompaniment of a guitar and a mandoline, are still sung- though not as often as in the old days- in the narrow alleys of Corfu.

The people of Corfu love the arts, and they are creative and sensitive. At the touristic shops in town one will find lovely knitted garments, woven fabrics, embroidery with traditional prints and beautiful colours, craftworks on olive wood, as well as hand-made jewelery. Other examples of the island's folk art are the beautiful wood-carved icon stands and the lovely hagiographies found in the interior of the majority of the churches. Most of these hagiographies were created by ordinary people.

The town of Kerkira is built with medieval characteristics. The two peaks of its fortifications gave the name to the island -"Corifo" or "Corifi" (Corfu). The old town of Kerkira is of extreme architectural interest. The buildings are a testament to the influence of Western modern of Renaissance, Baroque and Neo-classicism, yet they combine all of this with the elements of local architectural tradition. The houses are simple and similar, with six or seven stories, built very close to one another. The "Kandounia" (alleys) are so narrow that the women hang their laundry from their window to the window of the house opposite. The mansions are big and impressive, while, in the province, the mansions are often clusters of buildings, including storage houses, chapels and towers. The cornerstone of Corfu is the famous Spiniada square, around which there are old traditional buildings, typical examples of local architecture.

The traditional female attire of Corfu consists of a long and comfortable dress. The upper part of the body is covered with an embroidered vest with long sleeves which has ornaments and jewels hanging from the chest. The outfit also includes an apron with beautiful embroidery covering the dress. The most impressive accessory of female dress is the cover of the head, which is a coloured scarf wrapped around the head with a white scarf on top of it. On the scarf, one can admire the pinned flowers and ornaments which are very impressive. A scarf is tied around the waist and the shoes have low heels. The outfit is dominated by striking colours and embroidery, typifying of these people's cheerful idiosyncrasy, which also corresponds to the cheerful sounds of the traditional music of Corfu. The traditional male outfit is simpler than the female's, being very similar to the outfits of other Ionian Islands. It consists of a block "vraka" stopping at the knee, with a white shirt and wide sleeves. A waistcoat is worn over the shirt and a band is wrapped around the waist. The lead is covered with a small hat made of straw. The locals no longer wear their traditional outfits, yet the women of Corfu wear their outfits during the festivals and the litanies of St Spiridon. In the town of Lefkimi, women still wear their traditional outfits, having removed the ornaments and the big, light-coloured scarf on the head, the famous "Keflopodia".

In Corfu, one can taste the famous "pastitsada" made of meat cooked in sauce with vegetables, vinegar and macaroni. If one should visit the island at Easter, one should taste a variety of "mairitsa", called "tsilikourdo". Other local specialties are the "sophito" (veal baked in bread with garlic sauce), "gardouba" and "bourdeto" (fish cooked in a spicy sauce of onions). Corfu is the only place in Greece which produces a certain kind of sweet cherry, the "Kum-Kuat". In the town's coffee shops, one can drink a soft sweet drink which was introduced to the island by the English.

The guitar is a well-known string instrument which is played at the serenades and festivals of the Ionian people. Ancient Egyptian depictions bear witness to its age. It was introduced to Spain by the Arabs and during the 12th century it was spread to the rest of Europe. Although it was used mainly for accompaniment, there were many great guitarists, in the 19th century especially. Among them were Caroulli, Giuliani, Aguando Garcia and later Segovia. The guitar played an essential part in many operas like Rossini's "Barber of Seville", Donitsetti's "Don Pascuale", and Verdi's "Oberon".

The mandolin is a string instrument one can find especially on the Ionian islands. Most of the Ionian people play the mandolin. In their gatherings, one plays and another accompanies with the guitar while the rest sing along. It originated from mandola, the biggest instrument of a lute variation. It has four pairs of metallic chords which one strikes with a small pick. In all probability, it came from its neighbour Italy, where it is very popular. Great musicians have composed pieces for the mandolin. Vivaldi wrote "Concert for two Mandolins" and Bethoven "Five Pieces for Mandolin and Piano".